Question 19 LB01 - Lifeboat Operator

The Correct Answer is B ### Why Option B (100 feet) is Correct The required length for the painter (the line connecting the liferaft to the ship) of an inflatable liferaft is set by international maritime safety regulations (primarily SOLAS – Safety of Life at Sea). The minimum required length for the liferaft painter is **30 meters (approximately 100 feet)**. This length is mandated to ensure that: 1. The liferaft can be deployed and inflated properly, even from a vessel with a high freeboard. 2. The line has sufficient scope to allow the raft to pull free and away from a sinking vessel without putting undue strain on the painter during the final release (via the weak link). ### Why the Other Options are Incorrect * **A) 25 feet:** This length is far too short. If the ship has even a moderate freeboard (distance from deck to waterline), a 25-foot painter would prevent the liferaft from reaching the water and fully inflating, or it would fail to provide enough slack for safe detachment from a sinking vessel. It does not meet regulatory requirements. * **C) 200 feet:** While longer is technically safer in certain extreme circumstances, 200 feet is unnecessarily long for the standard deployment procedure. It would make the liferaft significantly bulkier, heavier, and more difficult to stow, and it is not the standard minimum length required by regulation. * **D) 400 feet:** This length is vastly excessive and impractical for a standard liferaft deployment system. It would create significant storage and handling difficulties and is far beyond the internationally accepted standard.